In the World Bank's latest reports, Europe's readiness for climate change is described as hot chaos.
According to a recent report by the bank, climate-related problems cost Europe more than 77 billion euros last year. Those costs can be reduced through more accurate data and better financing strategies. The reports, published in mid-May by the World Bank (in cooperation with the European Commission), paint a worrying picture of Europe's readiness to cope with the consequences of climate change in the years ahead.
One of the more unpalatable conclusions: by 2030, the European Union could lose seven percent of its GDP to dealing with the problems caused by climate change.
The report notes that 2023 was the hottest year on record in Europe, with climate-related weather costing more than 77 billion euros. And although European countries are taking significant steps to prepare for the consequences of climate change, the report concludes that more must be done – particularly in critically important sectors, such as those providing emergency services.
In half of the EU member states, for example, fire stations are located in areas facing more than one potential natural disaster hazard. Such inadequate preparedness among emergency services has already had consequences, explains World Bank senior disaster risk management specialist Zuzana Stanton-Geddes.
In Greece, during the 2023 forest fires, patients had to be evacuated from the hospital in Alexandroupoli because it lay within the fire zone, while during the 2021 floods in Germany fire stations were out of action for similar reasons (they too were within the disaster zone).
“The report shows that critically important infrastructure, such as fire stations and police stations, hospitals, schools, roads and power lines, is often located in areas that are vulnerable to several hazards, including floods, forest fires, earthquakes and landslides,” said Zuzana Stanton-Geddes, adding: “It is vital that European policymakers prepare for possible disasters and climate shocks. The bank's reports provide the data and evidence needed to improve both preparedness for potential disasters and people's resilience to various climate shocks.”